Instead of the entire application obeying one set of network settings, each space should have its own settings. This way users can specify some spaces as being on one network while other spaces are local only, avoiding unintended syncing of local spaces to a network.
REAL WORLD USE CASES
In my case, I want my personal journal to be local only, with no possibility of it being synced to any remote device. Currently I must remember to toggle local-only when I move between spaces. One day I may forget and accidentally upload my journal.
I would also love if this was possible. Like @MrsBasilEFrankweiler I want my own personal notes as local-only, but would like to use collaboration with multiple people online in other spaces over the AT network.
I have the exact oposit need, but same feature. I use anytype for my personal notebook and want it synced and backuped on network, but my work space is not allowed to be by enterprise rules and thus need to be local only. I currently resort to not be able to use my personal notebook space on my work computer to make sure I dont mixup the settings
I have several people interested in switching to Anytype to set up collaborative spaces (with chat and data sharing). However, some of them want their spaces to be local-only… and currently, in that case, it’s impossible to have a shared space at the same time (even one shared by someone with an account on the network).
As a result, it’s unlikely anyone will switch to Anytype.
For reasons of security, independence, and the lack of a need that would justify a paradigm shift: currently, these people already have their data on their PC and only on their PC, and that fully meets their needs. Only one PC has the data (backups are in place), there’s no need for mobility, etc.
Switching to the Anytype network isn’t out of the question (with a 1GB plan, presumably), but introducing them to Anytype this way is a turn-off.
For context, I was presenting Anytype to a group of people who use completely offline solutions and communicate via IRC.
Issues of security, independence, and total control over data, etc., are paramount, so Anytype could be appealing.
But starting out by being “dependent” on the server will likely be a deal-breaker (on hold for now). We considered testing via the Local-only version, but then we lose the chat feature…
One person would like to switch to Anytype (with a huge need for storage—70GB on Notion—the cost of the 100GB plan is a bit daunting).
And in this context, she’d like to use the Anytype chat with the others.
Except that if some of those people are using the Local-only version, chat isn’t possible.
The idea of a “light” chat client was also brought up (one of the people has a PC from the last century, so their lightweight IRC client works, but Anytype will likely crash… my demo on my PC used nearly 2GB of RAM, which wasn’t very appealing at all)
It’s worth noting that I would have liked to be able to do this for my own personal use as well.
One scenario I had considered:
an AnySync account
a LocalOnly account on a mobile PC with no internet access, just for fun (to create demos to showcase Anytype, test things out as I please, etc.)
But I would still have liked to be able to access some of my data, so I would need a shared space between my main account and this offline PC, which would sync exclusively via P2P.
Same goes for testing the self-hosting (out of curiosity and for my role as a Bug Detective) : I wanted to do it, but constantly switching accounts is a pain.
Overall, Anytype offers three operating modes. And there are indeed three types of users.
But by compartmentalizing them, everyone loses out on possibilities, and it makes it harder for “Local-only” or “Self-hosted” users to discover the Anysync version (even though trying out a chat or a shared space might make them want to give it a shot).
This is an important feature, because I’m on the way to hit the remote storage limit largely caused by media that doesn’t need to be backed up in the cloud. What’s even worse, I’m often working in the field with a painfully slow mobile connection and I have to spend a loooong time watching the percentages of these uploads. I cannot go totally local-only because I need to share web pages.
